Where does “mile” come from?
mile (Danish) comes from English mile, from Middle English myle, from Old English mīl, from Latin mīlia, from Proto-West Germanic mīliju, from Latin Mīlle, from Proto-Italic smīɣeslī, from Proto-Indo-European smih₂ǵʰéslih₂.
mile (Danish): dune; charcoal stack; atomic pile
Definitions
- dune; charcoal stack; atomic pile
Ancestry of “mile”, step by step
mile traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mile
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mile | The international mile: a unit of length... |
| 2 | Middle English | myle | mile; The time it takes to walk a mile;... |
| 3 | Old English | mīl | millet; mile |
| 4 | Latin | mīlia | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | mīliju | mile |
| 6 | Latin | Mīlle | thousand; 1000 |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | smīɣeslī | thousand |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ | — |
via Old Norse melr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | melr | dune; sandbank |